SMASH – One Week Away!

Okay you guys, this might seem like a random post, but I thought I’d just remind everyone that the big Smash season premiere is exactly one week away. I (Nick) will be the recapper for the season. Not sure why MJ trusts me, but let’s just roll with it, shall we? For those of you who followed along, I was the recapper for season one of this awesome/semi-ridiculous show. Katharine Mcphee was my all-time favorite American Idol contestant, and regardless of the show’s critical praise or acceptance, I’m just so happy for my Kat to be a leading lady on a major network show. It seems that NBC is backing this thing no matter what. They advertise the show like no other–you can’t turn on your TV without seeing the sneak peaks or previews. Let’s just hope that translates into viewers, because the same strategy was used last season, and I’m not sure it did so well on the viewers/ratings side of things. I was sure it would be cancelled and go down as an epic failure on NBC’s part, but fortunately for Kat, I was wrong! Instead, they fired the show runner, dropped the unnecessary characters (Julia’s husband *cough*), and brought on a slew of high-profile guest stars along with new show runner Josh Safran.

Will all these changes lead to a successful comeback for the series that started out with so much hope? So much promise. So much awesomeness. Does anyone remember that pilot episode?! A-MAH-ZING. Skip forward to mid season and we had walked right into the middle of an effing train wreck. But just like any automotive accident, you can’t help but take a peek. So we continued through the season, because we couldn’t help the guilty pleasure. And if you were like me, the show started to make for some pretty epic drinking games. (Shot of tequila every time Julia shows up with a new scarf!)

Basically, I have hopes for season two, but not too high of hopes–don’t want to set my expectations too high only to be disappointed. And yes, I realize they are allowing people to watch the first hour of the the big two-hour season premiere, but I feel like I’m cheating if I don’t wait till premiere night for some reason. So please don’t post any spoilers in the comments, unless you are giving general feedback on what you’ve seen so far.

I’m excited for this season, and if you head over to Hulu, you can watch the first hour I was just referring to. Until then, how about a super quick recap of season one?

Season one: We start with Julia and Tom, Broadway writing partners who have the idea of developing an entire musical focused on the life of Marilyn Monroe. The title of this show? Bombshell! Sounds exciting, right? Well, don’t forget these peeps have personal lives that can cause some pretty pesky problems. For example, Julia and her husband Frank are in the middle of an adoption process while their marriage is going kaput. (Yeah, it was a really stupid story line.) On top of this, they were dealing with a troubled teenage son who couldn’t act. (Seriously, I would dread every time that kid came on screen. WORST. ACTING. EVER.) But Julia and Tom pushed through their problems and secured high-profile producer Eileen Rand, who was also in the middle of marital issues and getting a divorce from her rich, powerful husband. This made for some drinks being thrown in his face pretty much every other episode. But hey, Anjelica Huston can throw a drink in my face any day! Anyway, Eileen secures a very talented, but super aggressive and mean director Derek Wills. Derek is tasked with choosing the right girl to play the starring role of Marilyn. In corner one, he has what most would call the obvious choice: a platinum blonde, vivacious, curvy girl with a voice that could easily sell out a theater and years of Broadway experience. Her name? Ivy. Then his second choice: the naive, beautiful, quiet girl from Iowa who wows Derek and the production team unexpectedly in her audition. Her name? Karen. After some cat fighting, bickering, and sleeping around, Derek ends up choosing neither of the girls. (Say WHUUUUT?) He brings in A-list movie star Rebecca Duvall to fill the shoes of Marilyn. This ends up being a huge mistake, as her voice is as good as a lead from a high school level production. Luckily, the evil, much-despised assistant of Eileen steps in by poisoning Miss Duvall, causing her to drop out of the show. Panic ensues: Ivy sleeps with Karen’s fiance Dev (Yeah, there was this guy named Dev–he was pointless. But he’s gone now, so we won’t waste time on him.), Derek has to bring back Michael Swift despite Julia’s adamant refusal (she totally banged him while she was married and trying to adopt a baby), Julia and Tom almost have a BFF breakup, and eventually…Karen is awarded the role of Marilyn. The show ends with her performance (which I thought was incredible), and the audience giving her a standing ovation.(Yes, I realize Ivy would’ve given just as good of or even better performance, buuuuut, she didn’t. So deal with it.)

Wow…so where do we pick up in season two? How will they carry on this storyline and tie up the loose ends while completely revamping the entire show? I guess we’ll have to wait a week to find out! So excited, people! Oh, but don’t forget, I am in the baron wasteland that is Utah, so while I will get the discussion posts started in time for you East-coasters, the recaps won’t be up until either very late Tuesday nights, or first thing Wednesday mornings. Bare with me!

Uh. You need to watch Part 1 of the Season 2 premiere. It’s absolutely incredible, and it really gets back to why I loved the show to begin with. I can’t wait to watch it again in real time when it airs on TV next week. :)

http://twitter.com/ronnydias Ronny Dias

Looking forward to the new season and your always spot-on recaps!
;)

http://twitter.com/tukicarreno Tuki

Cannot wait for this season! I am so excited! My favorite show is back! Yay.

Even though I know Karen will have a new boyfriend,I am looking forward to continue to watch the Karen/Derek relationship evolve this season.
I LOVE them together! What a chemistry..

milwlovesadam

Simply cannot wait. I’m hoping for a lot of Sean Hayes and some more Bernadette Peters. I just adore Megan Hilty. She was also incredible on the salute to Marvin Hamlisch on New Year’s on PBS.

Loved Season One, even the problems on this show were ten times better than everything else on “regular” TV.

jeffreyd95821

Just watched the movie Joyful Noise and if you want a sneak peek of Jeremy Jordan, he plays Dolly Parton’s nephew in it. Don’t remember if it was successful or not but it’s Dolly and Queen Latifah competing to lead a church choir. Jeremy’s character romances Queen’s daughter played by Keke Palmer, and momma ain’t happy.

http://profile.yahoo.com/B6MXUPTGXGQXHDXERRZKH2FSC4 B

Can’t wait to hear Katharine Mcphee sing again every week!!!! She is a superstar. What a beauty.

http://profile.yahoo.com/IWBANJEMRHF22KL346CK2OOS3A G

very excited for SMASH and Katharine McPhee! counting down the days!

kmd23

I honestly do not understand the appeal of this show. I tried to watch it once and was bored. I also am not a fan of Kat. Good for the show that it has its fans. I just hope it is not going up against a popular show as I don’t know how it would do.